Stanford and Michigan Pull Top Recruits
After a pandemic impacted season, the 2020 Toyko Olympics, and a very successful World Championships, Men’s NCAA Gymnastics is getting back to regularly scheduled programming with 2021 National Signing Day. The future is bright as the junior pipeline continues to churn out top talent, with the NCAA remaining the premier route for Olympic hopefuls.
2021’s class features some of the best names in recent memory, including Asher Hong, the Cypress Academy standout who is sure to be in the running for a spot on the 2024 Olympic Team. Fred Richard joins Hong as a five star recruit out of Massachusetts, headlining Michigan’s star studded class. Below you’ll find a list of the top 20 recruits ranked from five stars to three-and-a-half. You’ll also find a ranking of the top six recruiting classes of 2021 and a breakdown of how each of those teams fared this signing period.
Individual Rankings:
1 Asher Hong: Stanford - 5 star
2 Fred Richard: Michigan - 5 star
3 Landen Blixt: Michigan - 4.5 star
4 Toby Liang: Nebraska - 4.5 star
5 Caleb Melton: Penn State - 4.5 star
6 Theodor Gadderud: Cal - 4.5 star
7 Kacper Garnczarek: Penn State - 4.5 star
8 Arun Chhetri: Stanford - 4.5 star
9 Caden Spencer: Ohio State - 4 star
10 Asher Cohen: Nebraska - 4 star
11 Will Fleck: Penn State - 4 star
12 Ignacio Yockers: Oklahoma - 4 star
13 Jesse Lee Pakele: Ohio State - 4 star
14 Kristian Grahovski: Ohio State - 4 star
15 Jack Critz: Nebraska - 4 star
16 Ryan Vanichtheeranont: Illinois - 4 star
17 Tate Costa: Illinois - 3.5 star
18 Justin Ciccone: Ohio State - 3.5 star
19 Matt Underhill: Penn State - 3.5 star
20 Nathan York: Nebraska - 3.5 star
1.Stanford
In the past few years, Stanford has seemed to nail down the perfect recipe for attracting and developing world-class talent, the likes of which include Brody Malone, Brandon Briones and Riley Loos. To add to their growing track record, the Cardinal landed the top-ranked recruit, Asher Hong, for the 2023 season. Hong has a long history of success as a multi-time USA National Team member and is now looking like a possible candidate for the 2024 Olympics. His difficulty packed gymnastics, including a Kaz 2.5 on vault, will add a new level of competitiveness to the already stacked Stanford roster. The Cardinal was also able to land four-and-a-half star recruit Arun Chhetri, along with Kaien Orion and Marcus Kushner, all of whom’s strong club careers have set them up for a nice transition to The Farm.
2. Michigan
Although Stanford pulled in the strongest recruiting class this year, Michigan’s recruiting haul is nothing to scoff at. The combination of Fred Richard and Landen Blixt is going to fuel the Wolverines for the next four years as the dynamic duo of Cameron Bock and Paul Juda move on from their collegiate careers. The pair of Blixt and Richard are perennial national team members and are ranked two and three behind Asher Hong. In addition to Blixt and Richard, head coach Kurt Golder picked up Robert Noll to round out the class.
3. Penn State
The Nittany Lions have emerged as one of the premier destinations for top recruits over the past few years. After landing the marquee class in 2019 with the likes of Michael Jaroh and Matt Cormier, Head Coach Randy Jepson and staff cashed in again in 2020 with the signing of Josh Karnes. The 2021 cycle has been no different for Penn State, pulling in three recruits in the top 20 including Virginia native, Caleb Melton. Kacper Garnczarek, Will Fleck, and Matt Underhill join him to shape up what is sure to be a well rounded team in the hunt over the next two years as 2019’s class reach upperclassmen status.
4. Nebraska
Nebraska knocked recruiting out of the park in 2020, pulling in the number three class in the country, injecting young talent along with some standout transfers. Coming in at number four this year, the Cornhuskers managed to ink four-and-a-half star recruit, Toby Liang. Liang comes in with plenty of accolades, most recently taking second in the all-around at the 2021 USA Championships. The Georgia native will make an immediate impact on this team. In addition, coach Chemlka inked Iowa transfers Zac Tiderman and James Friedman as well as current Junior National champion, Jack Critz, Colorado native Asher Cohen, and USA Championships qualifier Nathan York.
5. Cal
Landing a top ten recruit was enough to land Cal a spot on this list. Theodor Gadderud will be joining the team all the way from Norway, a talent that will add an immediate boost to the Golden Bear’s team score. The four-and-a-half star recruit has already been tested on the big stage, making multiple appearances at European Championships. JT Okada now has another standout to take the helm once the decorated Darren Wong graduates.
6. Ohio State
In the past, Ohio State has pulled in top rated recruits such as Alec Yoder, Jesse Tyndall, and Justin Ah Chow, but this year head coach Rustam Sharipov had a different approach. The Buckeye’s strategy seems to have changed. Instead of targeting five star recruits they look to be filling holes in their lineup with a slew of three-and-a-half and four star recruits. Ohio State’s class this year has no standout, instead a team of solid athletes highlighted by Caden Spencer, Jesse Lee Pakele, Kristian Grahovski, Justin Ciccone, and Max Olinger. This talented crew will undoubtedly be a force for years to come in Big Ten competition.